Ethiopia to give ID cards to Rastafarians

Addis Ababa - Ethiopia will issue national identity cards for the nearly 1 000 Rastafarians who long have been seen as stateless in the East African nation, the government announced on Thursday.

The decision means they can enter without visas and live without residence permits. The move also affects Ethiopian Jews and foreign nationals who have made positive contributions to the country.

"These individuals have long been unable to enter and leave the country easily," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Meles Alem told The Associated Press.

"In the case of Rastafarians, we have three generations of people residing here that have blended well with our citizens. But sadly they were neither Caribbean nor Ethiopians so were somehow stateless. This national ID will address this problem."

Close to one thousand Rastafarians live in Ethiopia, especially in the capital, Addis Ababa, and a southern town called Shashamane. Ethiopia's last emperor, Haile Selassie, granted land for the Shashamane settlement for black people who helped fight off Fascist Italian forces in the 1930s.

Rastafarianism, which began after the emperor came to power, has followers who believe he is god.

"We are overjoyed," said Ras King, a prominent member of the Rastafarian community who first came to Ethiopia in 1982. "We are extremely happy because this has fulfilled our confidence in our forefathers' vision for a united Africa and black people from the West. As usual, Ethiopia has led the way and set the example for the rest of the continent in recognising the Rastafarian movement."

Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel, have a significant presence both in Ethiopia and in Israel.

The foreign ministry said the thousands of people who will be issued the new identity cards still cannot take part in elections or engage in the country's security and defense sectors. Read more here

Dozens of Ethiopian figures held on corruption charges

An outside view of stores after Ethiopian craftsmen shut down their shops to protest against tax regulations in Holeta of the Oromia Regio, Ethiopia on July 18, 2017. ( Minasse Wondimu Hailu - Anadolu Agency )

ADDIS ADABA

The Ethiopian government on Tuesday arrested 34 senior public officials, investors and brokers for alleged embezzlement of public funds.

Negeri Lencho, the country’s communication minister, told a news conference the officials had been arrested after police investigations, plus probes by the attorney general and auditor general’s offices.

Without disclosing any names, Lencho said the suspects had been serving as senior officials in the ministry of finance, the roads authority and the sugar industry.

He said the government had launched a crackdown on corruption and it was possible more arrests would be made in the coming days.

Lencho also called on the public to lodge complaints about suspected corruption.

Read more here

5 facts about Ethiopia

Ethiopia is Africa's top coffee producer and the 5th largest in the world.

Ethiopia is a country with distinct history and culture. Here are some facts of the country that you should know:

1. The country was discovered in 980 B.C. making it one of the oldest nations in the world.

2. Did you know that Ethiopians have a low life expectancy in the world. It is believed that the life expectancy of a woman is around 50 years and men 48 years.

3. Ethiopia is  Africa's top coffee producer and the 5th largest in the world. If you visit you will experience a coffee ceremony and ritual that locals do. In fact, coffee was first discovered by an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi in the Kaffa region. He apparently noticed his goats dance after eating the berries off the coffee plant.

4. The Great Rift Valley cuts through Ethiopia from northeast to south of the country and is the only physical feature of Africa that it visible from space.

5: Ethiopia is home to the source of the Blue Nile, which together with the White Nile makes up the Nile River, the longest river in the world. Read more here

Kenenisa Bekele Not On Ethiopian World Team, Says He's Not Fit

The Ethiopian Athletics Federation announced their official contingent for the upcoming IAAF World Championships in London from August 4-13 today with the notable exception of three-time Olympic gold medalist Kenenisa Bekele, who was expected to race the marathon.

The 35-year-old, who holds the world records in the 5K and 10K, told an Ethiopian media outlet that he was "not fit to compete at the event." Bekele removed himself from consideration for selection.

Bekele was also left off the Ethiopian team for the 2016 Rio Olympics, as he failed to achieve the time standard in the 10K and the Ethiopian federation felt he "had not run enough big races over the past year" to earn a spot in the marathon, despite taking third in 2:06 at the London Marathon in April. He did not race in 2015.

He won the Berlin Marathon last September in 2:03:03, barely behind Dennis Kimetto's world record of 2:02.57. Bekele announced his intent to break Kimetto's world record this year, but his two attempts were thwarted: he fell at the start of the Dubai Marathon and later dropped out, then ran 2:05.57 at the London Marathon for second place behind Daniel Wanjiru.

Other items of note on the Ethiopian roster:

- Genzebe Dibaba will double in the 1500m and 5K, the same feat she pulled off to a gold and bronze medal, respectively, in 2015. She also set the 1500m world record at 3:50.07 in 2015.

- Almaz Ayana, who set the 10K world record en route to gold at the Rio Games, will double in the 5K and 10K. She is the defending world champion over 5K but has not raced in 2017 due to injury. Read more here

Ethiopia urges illegal workers in Saudi Arabia to come home

Ethiopia says that only a fraction of its citizens working illegally in Saudi Arabia have returned home before today's amnesty deadline.

In March, the Gulf state said that those without papers would not be arrested if they left within 90 days.

The deadline was extended by another month, but so far only 60,000 out of an estimated 400,000 Ethiopians have left, the Ethiopian government says.

Ethiopians make up a large portion of the kingdom's undocumented workers.

All those without papers now face imprisonment or forced deportation.

Africa Live: Updates on this and other stories

Ethiopia's Communications Minister Negeri Lencho told the BBC he feared what could now happen to his compatriots who were still in Saudi Arabia, adding they must return "with a sense of urgency".

"They will be imprisoned and we don't want our citizens to face unnecessary imprisonment, or suffer any physical harm or humiliation," Mr Lencho said.

Image captionNura Ahmed worked in Saudi Arabia for five years

One of those who returned is 28-year-old domestic worker Nura Ahmed. "Life was really tough," she told the BBC's Emmanuel Igunza just after she arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

"Sometimes I was jobless because I did not have the proper documentation, so I had no freedom to move around.

"One can never be at peace there," she added.

In 2013, a number of Ethiopians died in clashes with Saudi police as they were being rounded up for deportation.

Image captionIllegal migrants were deported from Saudi Arabia in 2013

Saudi Arabia attracts migrant workers from around the world, particularly Africa, and south and south-east Asia.

Saudi authorities estimate that up to one million people are working in the country illegally.

So far, tens of thousands of people of different nationalities have taken advantage of the grace period and have either left or acquired correct papers. Read more here